


Of Two Worlds, But Choosing One

by SalemStorm



Category: Critical Role (Web Series), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Broken Harry, Caleb needs a hug, F/F, F/M, Forgive Me, Happy quarantine ya'll, Harry Needs a Hug, Hugs are good, I don't deserve it, Inter-Realm Travel, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Molly needs a hug, Mollymauk being the flirty fuckin peacock that he is, Multi, Not-exactly canon compliant, Or don't, Polyamory, Powerful Harry, Punk!Aesthetic Harry, They all need hugs, haha - Freeform, hahahah, jfc it's six in the morning when I first post this, mwahahahaha, tags and characters will be updated as we go along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:15:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23802202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalemStorm/pseuds/SalemStorm
Summary: The war left behind broken people, but none more broken then Harry Potter himself. A child soldier playing in the games of grown men, used as a pawn and discarded at societies leisure. But when Lady Magic feels mournful of what the world has put him through, she gives him a choice.Stagnation and pain, or adventure and the chance at happiness in a new world?It doesn't take much to convince him.
Relationships: It's gonna be a surprise bitches
Comments: 10
Kudos: 78





	1. Broken Down but Still Hopeful

**Author's Note:**

> Two chapters are being posted today, all together clocking in around 6k words. It took hours of writing and editing, but I think I got it too a place where I'm happy enough posting it, at 5:40am, April 23, 2020. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are welcomed and appreciated! Let me know what you guys think, and without further ado, chapter one!

The walls of Grimmauld Place had never felt like so much of a prison as they did now, with their molding brown-grey wallpaper surrounding the fireplace and armchair where one Harry Potter sat. As he took a long draw of firewhiskey straight from the bottle - hot and smooth and tasting of a lifetimes worth of regrets - Harry thought he could almost hear his Godfather, Sirius in his head now. _'Now do you understand why I hate this bloody house?'_ He chuckled to himself; a hollow, empty thing, and leaned back in the reclining chair that had become his sole comfort these pasts weeks, looking up at the web-like cracks that decorated the white-painted ceiling. He wondered if today would be the day he got lucky and it would collapse on top of him. 

If Hermione and Ron could see him now, they wouldn't get it, wouldn't understand. To them and everyone else they had _won_. But Harry knew better. People were fickle beast, and while Tom Riddle may have been born a monster, Lord Voldemort was a product of his environment. Of the hatred and greed that lived in the hearts of wizards and muggles alike. Harry grimaced and took another drink, shuddering as it went down. He knew in his heart that he wouldn't be the last Dark Lord; he wasn't even the first. No, that honor went to Grindelwald. 

A dark laugh filled the room, and it took him a second to realize it was coming from himself. Now there was a story. Best friend to the one and only _Dumbledore_ , the Lord of the Light. A fucking hypocrite is what he was. Preaching against dark magic and holding a grudge against those in Slytherin House when he himself had practiced the very same magic he judged them for. Harry Potter had long since quit being Dumbledore's _anything_ , let alone his Golden Boy. 

A few days after the battle had ended, he became a recluse. Cut things off with Ginny, told Ron and Hermione that he needed _space_ for a while. Locked himself up in the desolate townhouse he found himself in now. He wasn't even sure what day it was at this point, but he didn't care either. When the last of the firewhiskey ran dry he screamed in frustration and threw it at the fireplace, not even bothering to shield himself from the spray of glass and bits of ember. The house was old, but it was magical, so he doubted it would just burn down. With nothing left to occupy his mind, he turned his head into the cushions of his chair and wept. 

He wept for lost friends. He wept for lost opportunities. He wept for loss and rage. He wept for an entire generation of Slytherins whose families had been torn apart after the battle. He wept for his younger self, a pawn in a game of old men. He wept for Hedwig, and Fred, and Remus, and Tonks, and poor little Teddy. An orphan now, like him. He wept for the angry Mad-Eye and the tragic Snape. The insufferable Collin Creevey and lovesick Lavender Brown. Vincent Crabbe; for all that he tried to kill him; he was still just a _kid_. And, at the end of his list of regrets, he wept for Tom Riddle. A boy who turned into a monster, all because he couldn't feel love. 

When the tears ran dry, as they always did, his eyes grew heavier than his heart and he drifted off into the black abyss of sleep. 

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

_"I'm so sorry."_

_"Where am I?"_

_"It shouldn't have happened like this."_

_"What shouldn't have happened? Who are you?"_

_"I've given you my Gifts, but I took so much from you. I'm so sorry."_

_"I don't understand."_

_"A Choice, Harry. I'm giving you a choice."_

_"Again, who are you?"_

_"A part of you. A large part of you, but nowhere near the whole of you. A part of all wizard and creature kind."_

_"Oh. Oh. You're. You're Magic, aren't you? Like, with a capital 'M'?"_

_"Yes, little one."_

_"I'm not little. I'm eighteen."_

_"Still far too small for one your age. Nevertheless, a Choice, dear one."_

_"What kind of choice?"_

_"Remain here, in this world that has caused little more than pain and suffering, where you will likely stay as you are, or leave."_

_"Leave? And where would I go? What of my friends? What of Ron and Hermione?"_

_"They are not of this, mention them not. Decide for yourself Harry, and only yourself. To answer your first question, another world. Another reality. One where happiness lies in wait within adventure and unsullied bonds."_

_"Forgive me for being skeptical, but what's the catch?"_

_"Power. Your magic would evolve in that world, raised to a frequency much higher than here. You will find yourself unique, even amongst the Gifted, and if not careful you will draw the wrong kind of attention."_

_"So, no matter what I do, nothing changes. I'm still the odd-man-out, the outcast, the freak."_

_"Yes, but have faith. Freakishness is not so terribly shunned there as it is here."_

_"But it's still shunned, isn't it?"_

_"Yes."_

_"And you really think I'll be happy there?"_

_"Happiness will be something you make there. Should you choose to."_

_"... I really don't have any reason to stay do I?"_

_"Not truly. Your prophecy has been fulfilled. Your friends will move one. The world will heal."_

_"Before it's next catastrophe."_

_"As is the nature of things."_

_"I... okay."_

_"Okay?"_

_"Yes! Yes, okay. You have your answer."_

Darkness. Then a glorious, brilliant explosion of light so pure the heavens would weep, as every fiber of his being was set alight, bathed in magic, raw and beautiful. The first bud of spring, the last leaf of fall, the cold snap of winter, and blaring heat of the summer sun. It was the laughter of children, and the heartbeat of a hummingbird. The storm clouds that gathered on the horizon, promising heavy rain and healthy harvest. The last breath of life as it left the chest of an elderly woman in a hospital room. The anguished cries of a would-be mother's pain. The plague that settled in the lungs of cattle and wiped out entire families to starvation. 

It was great and glorious, terrible and horrifying, hot and cold, day and night. It was. Everything. Every single thing. 

Then, Darkness once more. 


	2. Chapter 2

As bright light filtered behind groggy eyes, Harry awoke slowly to the smell of damp moss and rich soil. He knew, instinctively now, that what he had dreamed had not been a dream. He blinked away his sleep and no sooner then he opened his eyes, a long moan of pain escaped him. He could feel it, his magic, as if his core had been cracked open and force-fed energy to bursting. His skin felt like it was vibrating and as he pulled himself into a sit, his muscles shook with a unique soreness he couldn't explain. A small weight dropped into his lap as he raised, and he looked down to find a small leather-skin pouch with a draw string enclosure. He set it to the side for now.

He twisted his head this way and that; taking in his surroundings with wide eyes. The first thing of note was that he was in a circular clearing in a forest somewhere, the grass long and wild and filled with flowers of every rainbow hue. The second thing of note was a chest, just off to his right; made of dark wood and silver casting. He waded over to it on his knees, not yet feeling confident in his ability to stand, and inspected it closer. In the silver that ran like streams of light on the dark-stained wood there were runes he didn't recognize inscribed. A part of himself, a new part he hadn't experienced before, could feel the power that had been sunk into them.

Opening the lid he wasn't entirely surprised to find a ladder leading down inside, as most wizarding chest had such, but whatever was at the bottom was obscured from his view. He closed the lid, deciding that right this moment, out in the open and exposed as he was, it probably wasn't the best idea to go in and leave himself vulnerable to ambush.

_'Constant vigilance!'_

His heart squeezed as he chuckled at the reminder of his old professor, but agreed with the phantom memory nonetheless. He was in a completely foreign _world_ , he didn't know the people, the creatures, or even the types of magic that was practiced here; _if_ magic was practiced at all. He stood on shaky legs, taking a couple minutes to set himself to rights. Remembering the small pouch he set aside, he grabbed it up and opened it to check it's contents. His eyes widened once more when he realized the pouch, too, was expanded and quickly reached his whole arm in, pulling out a fistful of galleons, sickles, and knuts. He had to wonder if _all_ his money from his vaults were in there, or if Lady Magic only gave him enough to get started. He eventually decided to investigate that later as well and stuffed the pouch inside one of his pockets.

He asked himself for the first time what people in this world might consider normal attire as he looked down at himself, still in the same faded jeans and white t-shirt he was in when he fell asleep. He wiggled his toes into the soft soil-turned-mud and grimaced at his lack of socks and shoes.

_'You could give me a bunch of money, and a pretty chest, but not shoes? Really?'_

The wind picked up and ruffled his hair, and he could've sworn he heard the faintest sound of laughter as he tried to keep his gods awful bird's nest out of his eyes. He searched his other pocket and let out a sigh of relief when he found his Holly and Phoenix Feather wand exactly where he had left it. He shrunk the chest and set it in his pocket alongside the pouch of monies.

_'First thing's first.'_ He thought. _'I need to find the closest road, and follow it into a town. Hopefully I can find some shoes there.'_ Knowing that the best way out was up, he point his wand at himself once more.

_"Ascendio!"_ In hindsight, he should've thought that out better. He shot up like one of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes bottle rockets. Forty, sixty, eighty - no he had to be _at least_ a hundred feet in the air, and still going. "H-h-hoollly shiiiit!!" He had used this spell before, but never had it shot him up this high this quick. Looking for the nearest road now that he was so high, he found one just a little out east of him. Mapping the location in his mind, he let a _finite_ pass his lips and the moment he entered free-fall, he apparated. His math was a little off, spitting him out about ten feet about the road before he landed with a rough "oomf!"

Taking a wheezing breath he stumbled to his feet and rubbed his chest. "That's gonna leave a bruise" He mumbled. He found himself on a wide, dirt road. Deep tracks were carved in it, unlike any car tracks he had ever seen, and he wondered for a minute if they were caused by a cart. If the world he was thrown in was in some sort of medieval period, but surely Magic wouldn't be that cruel, would she? _'No, of course not. It's probably just from an old farm town nearby that still use the whole "horse and buggy" system.'_ He reasoned with himself.

Having no other choice, he picked a direction and started walking. His feet were a muddy mess in no time, but his years gardening Petunia's garden had him quickly building up a tolerance of muddy feet. As he walked he turned his mind back to his overcharged ascension spell earlier.

_'I wonder if that's what She meant by my magic evolving? It definitely felt different when I woke up. Still does, really. Almost like I have too much of it inside me, like I might burst at any time. Are all my spells going to be that powerful now?'_ He wondered. _'If so, I'm going to need to find a space to practice later, so I don't accidentally end up hurting someone.'_ He looked up at the empty road in front of him, then turned to look at the empty road behind him, both sides lined with a dense line of trees. _'I suppose I could always practice while I travel? There is no one around right now.'_ Mind made up he fingered his wand, cycling through his repertoire of spells for the right one.

Deciding on starting with something simple, he raised his wand above his head. " _Lumos._ " He had shield his eyes from the brightness that burst from his wand, even in broad daylight. Gone was the soft blue-white of a standard wand-light. Instead, he faced with a brightness that could rival a muggle flashbang, which he had read about when studying muggle war, in hopes to learn how to win his own. "Nox." Extinguishing the light of his wand, he had to take a moment to blink the spots out of his vision.

_'It's a good thing I started with something benign. Imagine if I cast a_ bombarda _, or even a_ stupefy _?'_ He shook his head at the thought and squared his shoulders. He had to learn how to master it. He continued on his way and begun to consider how get the magic to cast at safe enough levels that a simply hex wouldn't kill a man without his intent to do so. As he twirled his wand in his fingers he tried to bring everything he could remember from Magical Theory classes to the forefront of his thinking.

"Wands are foci." He said, mumbling to himself. "They take the spells that wizards cast and _focus_ it into tangible magic by empowering the spell. This is a requirement for most wizards because wandless magic is nearly impossible unless the witch or wizard trying to cast wandlessly has had years of practice doing so."

_'Good job, Harry! I knew you could do it.'_

"Thank you, Hermione." He froze in his step. Maybe he was a bit more traumatized then he thought, to be hearing voices in his head. It had just slipped out but his chest ached at the thought of the friends he willing left behind. _'They'll move on.'_ He told himself. _'They don't need me anymore.'_ The silent _but I still need them_ got locked up deep in the back of his mind. He could breakdown another time. For now, magic.

"Keeping with the theory that most witches and wizards need a wand because their core simply isn't strong enough to cast wandlessly... would I be able too? It's not something I've ever practiced before."He chewed the inside of his cheek before saying "fuck it" and putting his wand away in his pocket. He stopped and looked for a good target before picking a random tree. He held his hand out, fingers splayed, palm facing the tree and took a deep breath.

" _Ventus_!" He did his best to temper the amount of magic he let out, tapering it from a roaring river to a babbling stream as a cyclone of wind erupted from his palm and blew at the tree so hard the branches swayed with the breeze. But they didn't break, and most of the leaves stayed on. He counted it as a win and smiled as he patted himself on the back. He had done it! In no time at all he had figured out the answer to his problem! Wandless casting! With a focus on dampening the spell, of course, but still! It was a start!

He did a little jig that he would deny doing under threat of death, and continued on his way. The mud was clinging to his feet in awful globs at this point, and he couldn't wait to get a new pair of shoes. He'd take women's heels over this. He'd take _clogs_ over this.

Practicing his spells as he went - every spell felt like a current of raw power as he cast, leaving him exhilarated and breathless - he started to get a little bored. Not to say that his newfound power was boring him, but rather that this was a new _world_ , and all he'd seen of it so far were trees, mud, and flowers. He hadn't noticed any animals at all yet, or people! It was all starting to get rather tedious. It was supposed to be an _adventure_! Honestly, he just wanted someone to talk to at this point.

"Oh." He said, stumbling in his step as an idea came to him. "Hang on." He cast out one hand in front of him, his wand sliding into the other just in case. Who knows what this would summon? " _Ssserpensortia!_ " The magic cast through his hand, and no sooner a great snake burst forth from wherever the spell had pulled it from, flying through the air in coils before coming to rest angrily and spiting on the ground.

_"Who daresss sssumon me? I will cook you for my kin!_ " Before Harry answered he noted the serpent's unique appearance. It's body was at least seven feet long, several inches in diameter, and covered in the most beautiful scales Harry had ever seen. Bright cobalt and violent fuschia streaked in radiant color across the serpent's hide, glittering and giving off an almost sense of _danger_ in the afternoon- as the sun was now almost directly overhead - sun.

The snake lunged a warning strike, and Harry jumped back with wide eyes as a bolt of lightning seared itself into the ground by his feet. " _Okay, whoahhh, wait a minute!_ " He hissed and crouched down, doing his best to get on the serpents level. " _My name isss Harry, I didn't mean to scare you! I only wanted ssomeone I could sssspeak with._ " He gestured to the stretch of empty road on either side of them. " _It'sss a little lonely out here, as you can sssee_."

The serpents coiled body seemed to relax a little, it's head tilting in curiosity as it's tongue flicked out to scent the air. " _A ssspeaker!_ " It said. " _There hasssn't been a ssspeaker in thiss realm in millenia!_ " He slowly slithered up to Harry and bobbed his head in what the boy thought might be the snake-equivalent of a bow. " _My name is Ossst. I am honored to meet you._ "

Harry smiled and held out his hand for Ost to slither into, rubbing his thumb along the scales that passed over it, surprised to find them delightfully warm. " _It'ss a pleasssure to meet you, Ossst. Might I assk, what kind of sssnake are you? I've never met one that could ssspit lightning before._ " The snake hissed a laugh, and Harry couldn't stamp down a smile of his own.

" _I imagine not. My brethren are few and far between_." Ost explained. " _I am what iss known as a Tempessst Sserpent. Our eggs are mossstly born from normal sserpentssss, touched by the magic that occurss naturally in the heart of powerful ssstormss, and asss such - we have ssome degree of control over the weather and can protect oursselvesss by producing lightning asss a weapon._ "

"That's amazing!" Harry said, reaching to pet the beautiful snakes head as he preened under the praise. " _I've never met a sserpent asss amazing asss you, and I've fought a poisonousss snake ten times my ssize!_ " Ost seemed to shine under all the attention, quite literally. His scales began to emit a crackling glow from the inside. " _Could I, by chance, convince you to come adventuring with me?_ " Harry asked, not wanting to assume. Ost hissed his content reply but stuck his nose up as if it were a chore. Oh, Harry loved this snake.

" _Only if there isss to be food. I wass about to catch a quarry before you sssummoned me here. My kind can eat any creature, raw or cooked, asss long asss we can get it down. Though I enjoy a nice char._ " Harry snorted. A snake with an attitude and special diet request? He hit the gold mine on this one.

" _Of course,_ " He said, looking at the tree line. " _Do you know if there are any rabbits around here?_ " Harry didn't even know if this world _had_ rabbits, but it had snakes, of a sort, so he assumed. Ost lifted his head and bobbed side to side as he scented the air.

" _No rabbitss, but there isss a rather plump frog jussst passt the treess._ " He slid back to the muddy road and Harry cast a wandless summoning charm, and sure enough a fat frog came soaring through the air with a loud croak before it smacked into his hand. Harry made a face and threw the thing on the ground, trying hard not to think of Trevor, before throwing the most basic fire-spell he has it. " _Incendio._ " The flames leaped from between his fingers and encompassed the amphibian, which let out an inhuman screech in it's final moments. When Harry finally lifted the spell, Ost quickly snatched it up and worked on getting it down, delighted at the charred taste.

Harry shuddered at watching him eat something he had just killed. " _From now on, you can kill your own food. I'll sstill sssummon it, but the resst isss on you. That wasss unpleassant._ " Harry laughed when Ost flicked him with his tail, clearly not happy about that declaration but too busy stuffing his face to say so.

When his new friend was done with his meal he demanded to be carried, claiming to be to lethargic from such a fat frog. When Harry told him he shouldn't have been a glutton, Ost called him rude.

After a ways more of travel Harry finally asked what he wanted too. " _Sso, Osst. Can you tell me the hissstory of thiss world? I don't know if you can tell, but I'm not exactly from around here._ "

Ost laughed. " _I knew that from the moment you ssspoke. Like I ssaid, there hasssn't been a Ssspeaker in this realm in millennia._ " Harry was surprised there Parstletongues at all, but kept silent. " _As for hisstory, don't you know we sssserpentss are the besst storytellersss? The Mother whissspers them all to us in the egg, and we go on to tell our future offspring._ "

Harry's raised an eyebrow. " _The Mother?_ "

" _The Mother of all. Ssshe who created this world and will be here when it endsss._ "

" _You mean Lady Magic?_ "

Ost shook his head. " _There are many namesss for Her, but we sserpentss know her only as The Mother. Sshe tellsss uss the stories, ssso I know the hisstory up until the point I hatched._ "

And so Harry spent the next few hours in study, learning of this new world called Exandria, and all it's Ages. He learned of the Betrayer Gods and the Primordials. He learned of it's continents and kingdoms, and of it's people - he was surprised to learn of Tieflings and Aasimars, having never quite believed in angels and demons back home only to come to a world with people descended from them! And _Gods_! Actual Gods that had proof of their existence! He even learned a little about this worlds magic, and how it varied greatly from his own.

The magic in this world seemed to work on a leveling system, and the greater the mage the higher the spell level he or she could cast, but even then there were limits. Ost explained that there were two types of magic users: Arcane, and Divine, and that Divine magic users gained their power from Gods or other higher lifeforms of terrifying power.

" _Your magic though,_ " Ost hissed, his tongue coming out to graze Harry's cheek. " _It taste like a little of both. Mostly Arcane, but you have been touched by the Divine and that leaves a certain kind of mark._ "

This was obviously news to Harry he lost himself in thought for a moment. Touched by the Divine? Could he mean Lady Magic? Or perhaps some other event, like when he died and came back to life? Or how, even for as brief a time it was, he was The Master of Death? There were many questions regarding that, but Ost didn't have the answers and Harry didn't know where to get them. So, for now, he would let sleeping dogs lay.

Before long the road seemed to get narrower, and Harry hoped that meant they were close to a town. Ost al of a sudden tightened around his shoulder and smacked his chest with the end of his tail. " _Wait!_ " The Tempest Serpent warned, his head turning as his eyes scanned the horizon, scenting the air. He snarled, as much as a snake could snarl. " _Gnollsss. Besst be caustiousss, Speaker._ "

Harry mimicked his new friend, looking in the yonder for the threat, but seeing none in the immediate area. He kept his eyes on the rising swell of the path before them that was blocking his view with trepidation. " _What isss a Gnoll?_ " Even after hours of learning, he was still unfamiliar to many of the threats in this place.

" _Abysssal creaturesss. Left oversss from the Calamity. They bred like rabbitsss. Travel in packs. They do not reassson, only ssseeking more bloodssshed._ " Harry blew a breath out through his nose and mentally listed his options.

Option one: Find another way to town and risk getting lost in dangerous wilderness in the process.

Option two: Keep going forward and risk being mauled by monsters, inevitably ending in a fight.

Well, he was here for some adventure, wasn't he? " _I'll keep going. If you see anything, give me warning. But I'd rather they attack us and we deal with them, then have them attack other passerby's later on._ "

" _I believe it may be too late for that._ "

As he his feet kissed the top of the incline, he understood what the serpent meant. There, maybe three hundred feet away, he could make out the shapes of five figures in battle. It appeared to be a three-against-two scenario, and he knew immediately which side was the Gnolls. He threw a quick Disillusionment charm over himself and Ost and crept closer. He could already _smell_ the horrible creatures, blood and death soaked into their coarse fur. He grimaced when at each step in the muddy road as his feet lifted out with a suctioned _plop_ that would quickly give him away once he got closer.

At a hundred feet he could see them clearly. A man with a book in his hand, wearing a trench coat and rather dirty clothes, seemed to be casting spells alongside... _was that a child??_ The small thing wore black leathers with a deep hood and some kind of mask so it was hard to tell, but he could clearly see the shortsword it wielded as it all but threw itself at a spear-wielding Gnolls. Harry was impressed with the speed and voracity.

The man with the book, seeming to trust his small partner, turned his attention on the other two Gnolls - one armed with bow and the other a sword - before they could help their comrade. He was amazed to see a ball of fire leap from the mans fingers just to slam itself into the sword-wielding Gnoll's chest, but noticed the wizard wasn't ready to deal with Archer - who was already drawing back an arrow, and in close quarters like that? Harry doubted he would miss.

Without thought; running purely on instinct and fear for a stranger he had never met with no regard to what spell he would cast, he raised his hand, drawing on the never-ending buzz of power under his skin, and screamed. " _Arresto momentum!_ " A spell used to slow quaffles. Also, incidentally, the spell Dumbledore used to save him from a nasty fall from his broom once, thema. The words passed his lips, the Disillusionment slipped, and the second the spell made contact the Gnoll seemed to freeze. Only he wasn't frozen; closer inspection would show the edges of his being seemed to almost vibrate as it did in fact move, just very very slowly.

He focused on keeping the spell going, and turned his head toward trench-coated hobo-man, who seemed to have already dispatched the beast he had attacked earlier and was now looking at him in what Harry could only describe as shock and gratitude. Before Harry could tell him to finish off the damn thing before his concentration slipped; Ost, whose presence around Harry's shoulders had gone all but forgotten, darted down the boy's extended arm, his skin crackling with power that filled the air with the smell of ozone, and launched forth a bolt of lightning so powerful that it broke Harry's spell upon impact and sent the Gnoll flying, a smoking crater in the side of it's neck. When it was all said and done, the serpent wrapped itself back around Harry's shoulders and seemed to fall asleep.

Harry sighed and stroked his scales, noting the coldness that resided in them now. _'A bolt that powerful probably took a lot out of him, with no storms around right now.'_ He thought. He finally noticed that the smaller person that had wielded the shortsword earlier now stood between him and Mr. Hobo, who's face was growing increasingly more fond/exasperated, sword now draw in Harry's direction, dripping the blood of her recent conquest.

"Whoah." Harry said, holding his hands in surrender. "I come in peace?" _'Really? "I come in peace"? God I'm a fucking idiot sometimes.'_ The Wizard; Harry assumed he was a wizard given his earlier use of a spellbook, sighed and shook his head.

"Nott, put that away. He just saved my life." His voice was dry and carried a tinge of what Harry recognized as a near German accent. The little one - _Nott_ as Harry now knew - seemed to narrow what little of her eyes Harry could actually see from under the hood. He released a breath of air he didn't know he was holding when the sword found itself back in its scabbard. Nott pulled back her hood to reveal a mess of lanky black-green hair and sharp, dark green pointed ears. But that wasn't nearly as unsettling as her jaundice-yellow eyes.

_'Not human, not human, not human. Dear Gods, what is it?'_ Harry felt guilty the minute he thought it. Afterall he knew what it was like to be treated like a freak. In an effort of good show he held out his hand in greeting to the little green badass. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nott was it? My name is Harry Potter." Nott eyes him up and down at first, looking at his hand as if it might bite, or if she might bite it. Every passing second is one of grueling embarrassment for Harry, and right when he's about to retract his hand she reaches out to grab it, gives it a firm shake with a strength more worthy of a man twice her size, and lets go. 

"I am Nott," _'Female.'_ Harry quickly notes. "Nott The Brave. Thank you for saving Caleb from that monster. Also, cool snake." The mask, which he now noted to be a broken piece of what looked to be a large porcelain doll, was still in place and distorted some of her words, but Harry understood nonetheless and gave her a kind smile. "Like I said, my pleasure." He stroked over Ost's scales. "I'll introduce you once he wakes up. He's rather kind, and tells the best stories." He smile grew at the way her yellow eyes seemed to sparkle at that, before drew his gaze toward the man, who was giving him a strange look. "I'm guessing you're Caleb?" That seemed to snap the hobo-wizard out of thought and his eyes widened before he extended his own hand, grimy and covered in soot as it was, but Harry shook it still. 

"Yes, my apologies. I too, was - _am_ rather thankful for you and your serpents intervention. We could have handled it on our own, of course, but your appearing made it all the easier." Harry repressed a snort at the slightly back-handed compliment, but he thought that might just be how the man is. Over-observant, anxious, and terrible at expressing feelings. Much like him!

"Speaking of," Caleb said. "are you a wizard? Or some other form of magician? I didn't notice a spellbook, and I don't see where you could be hiding one." His brows drew together as he took in Harry's odd appearance. The jeans were of a fabric he hadn't seen before, and though the shirt seemed to be common cotton, it was in a style unfamiliar to him. And then there were the bare feet. 

"Oh, er." He had to be careful. He didn't want to draw to much attention to how different his magic was. "I am actually, but I have an eidetic memory, so I don't really need to always be carrying a physical book."

Nott piped up, her bright yellow eyes going back and forth between the two wizards in awe. "Do you think you could teach Caleb some!? He's a _really_ good wizard, see, and we're always on the lookout for more magic stuff. Spells, and the like. He's even been teaching me a little bit!" Harry smiled at how Nott seemed to almost vibrate excitement as she talked about her friend. 

"I don't know, honestly." He tried not to cringe at how fast she seemed to deflate. "My magic _is_ a little different, I think. I'm not quite from around here, and the magic we practice back home is very different then the magic in this part of the world." _'In this world at all, really.'_ He silently thought.

"Is that why you have no shoes?" Nott asked. "I just thought you were homeless, like us. Or a weirdo. Or both." Harry had to force back a laugh at that, and he took the second he needed to clear his throat to try and come up with a convenient excuse.

"Despite the fact that I actually _am_ currently homeless, that has nothing to do with my lack of shoes. I was trying an experimental form of magical travel, and things went awry. I wasn't wearing shoes at the time, and the accident spit me out several miles back, in the forest." He had a small feeling of success when he saw Caleb wince in sympathy. 

"Ah. Experimental magic can be tricky, yes Do you know where you are, and can you get back?"

Harry hesitated. "Yes-ish, and no. I know I'm in Wildemount, but that's about it. Without going into any details, the place I came from is no longer accessible to me. So, I have little more then the clothes on my back and the coin that came with me." He patted the small bulge in his pocket where the trunk and pouch lay, noticing how Nott's eyes seemed to zero in when he said coin. _'Better watch her.'_ He didn't want to be in a foreign world with absolutely no coin, did he? 

"I am sorry." Caleb said, shocking Harry from his thoughts. 

"What?" 

"I am sorry you can not go home." He sighed, sliding his spellbook into his coat. "It is a pain I know well. Perhaps you could tell us about home, if it isn't _too_ painful? And perhaps how you came across such a rare and aggressive breed of snake, and somehow convinced it to become your pet?" The transmuter gestured towards the still sprawling expanse of road before them. "We have another hours' walk before we reach the closest town, Trostenwald."

"Not to mention I really like stories!" Nott exclaimed.

"That too." 

Harry tilted his head and considered, trying to think of how he could explain. Ost was easy enough to explain, he was sure Parsletongue wouldn't be _that_ weird in a world full of magic, but home? Home was harder to tell about. Finally a smile spread across his face, and as they continued on their way, he told a story. 

"It's a place very far from here, called the United Kingdom. It's rather small, compared to the rest of the world, and your not likely to find it on any maps, but ..." 


	4. Author's Note

Hey giys! First off, i just wanted to stop and say that I appreciate ALL of the support you guys have giving me on this story. It really means ablot and it pushes me to strive to better my writing everyday. 

Now, the bad news. The next five chapters are complete. The reasonthat I havent posted them was because I wanted to get a bit ahead so I could set up a comfortable schedule for release. 

Well, they day before yesterday i broke my laptop. Which has all my files on it. It IS FIXABLE. But because of Covid19 im not currently working, so I don't have the money to get it fixed. 

So until that happens everything is going to be put on pause. I'm really really grateful for all the kind words and enthusiasm y'all have shown me so far, and I look forward to completeing this story in the future. But for now, we're on pause. 


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